no more power steering

[AquaPython]

took a shit on me yesterday.
makes a wierd noise. slower speeds , turns are half-powered, to not at all, with a struggling, thumping noise / feel

i am not so mechanically inclined and did not know about changing out or flushing the power steering fluid. for all i know, unless this was done at some point during a service, this is the original fluid at about 105k.
it is a dark orange.
it was also at the low level. so i went topped it off with new , clear yellow p.s. fluid. it did make a difference. but it is still not great. do i have to flush it out, and replace with brand new? if, so how?

this is a '99 altima.

[tommymac]

May be better off replacing the pump. Not sure about new but you can get one at a junk yard prety cheap, and will need to rent or obtain a pulley removal tool as well.

Tom

[pauldun170]

took a shit on me yesterday.
makes a wierd noise. slower speeds , turns are half-powered, to not at all, with a struggling, thumping noise / feel

i am not so mechanically inclined and did not know about changing out or flushing the power steering fluid. for all i know, unless this was done at some point during a service, this is the original fluid at about 105k.
it is a dark orange.
it was also at the low level. so i went topped it off with new , clear yellow p.s. fluid. it did make a difference. but it is still not great. do i have to flush it out, and replace with brand new? if, so how?

this is a '99 altima.


Hit a junkyard or even reconditioned from an auto supply place.

Not sure on how tight it is in the engine bay of a 99 Altima but to replace a power steering pump isn't really a big job. Just an annoying one (tight access, 3-4 bolts total to loosen up and it's always that last one that either doesn't budge or you discover at the last minute that you only have space to turn the wrench one micrometer at a time.


some videos
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-replace-your-power-steering-pump-169473/

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-replace-the-power-steering-pump-in-a-saturn-s-series-263181/

[tommymac]

Hit a junkyard or even reconditioned from an auto supply place.

Not sure on how tight it is in the engine bay of a 99 Altima but to replace a power steering pump isn't really a big job. Just an annoying one (tight access, 3-4 bolts total to loosen up and it's always that last one that either doesn't budge or you discover at the last minute that you only have space to turn the wrench one micrometer at a time.

I remember that from my camaro, plenty of room under the hood but the hose going into the back was a pita to get to.

Tom

[AquaPython]

damn that autozone prick makes it look easy.


i was told it was not on the serpentine belt, that video shows it is?

[pauldun170]

damn that autozone prick makes it look easy.


i was told it was not on the serpentine belt, that video shows it is?

from http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070202175804AADlBDo

"only two ways it can go! one wrong turns the waterpump backward the alternator water pump p.s. belt that is. The air conditioning belt is easy. Let me describe there is limited room to feed the belt around in. First thing be safe use jack stands to support the car after lifting car. First couple times doing this job you might want to remove the right front wheel and inner plastic cover to get a better look at the pulleys. Clockwise from the crank shaft (where both belts are driven) Crank, to powersteering pump, over it to under the idler below the motor mount up to the alternator pulley, now down to the water pump ( smooth back of the belt drives the water pump) this is key! then back to the crank pulley. You will tension this belt once now and latter one month from now when it wears a little.
Source(s):
Nissan Master Technician"

[pauldun170]

Pulley stuff


if your keeping the car you may want to pick up a Haynes or chilton manual.
Pretty handy if you are going to be doing your own work.

[AquaPython]

i have a manual somewhere. not sure of the brand.

[unknownroad]

Whoah. You don't want to run out and replace the pump without doing any other troubleshooting :willy: You could just be throwing your money away.

Can you get the car up on ramps or jackstands to look underneath? You want to find out where the fluid is actually going... most likely, it's a fitting on one of the hoses. If you can get the car up on stands safely, with the weight off the front wheels, turn the engine on, make sure the car is in park, and turn the wheel lock-to-lock, see if the feel or sound changes at any particular point.

I'd use a turkey baster to empty the pump tank, fill it with fresh stuff, and drive the car for a bit. Then repeat. While you're doing that, see if you've lost a visible amount of fluid over that time. You'll want to check the level when the car is at roughly the same temperature.

See if the steering improves with fresh fluid before you start throwing parts at the problem.

[AquaPython]

i cant get it on a stand at my house, but a buddy has a shop that can help.

i will try the turkey baster, with 2 fresh rounds of the stuff.

there was a change for the better when i topped off with the new stuff.

[shmike]

Whoah. You don't want to run out and replace the pump without doing any other troubleshooting :willy: You could just be throwing your money away.

See if the steering improves with fresh fluid before you start throwing parts at the problem.

Thank you.

It could be as simple as a leaky hose or a loose fitting.

[Tmall]

Glad somebody chimed in with some common sense.

Rules of asking advice on how to get something fixed on the internet,

1. Ppl always chime in with the most expensive and time consuming method.

2. 99% of the time, the fix is something simple and quick to do.

3. If the first advice somebody gives you is to replace without trying to diagnose, ignore them completely.

[AquaPython]

the fluid was at the borderline for low. it was not completely drained. is that consistent with a leak ? a small one?

[fasternyou929]

the fluid was at the borderline for low. it was not completely drained. is that consistent with a leak ? a small one?

Depends how long it's been leaking, but that's the best place to start. Whenever it was filled, it should have been filled above the lower-limit.

[buzzcutt2]

Buy a new car. :luck:

[AquaPython]

Buy a new car. :luck:

if this becomes a few hundred dollar fix, then yes i will buy something new.

[pauldun170]

Let's take care of a $300 problem by spending $20,000 to make it go away.
:lol:

[AquaPython]

Let's take care of a $300 problem by spending $20,000 to make it go away.
:lol:

who said 20k ?
this car would probably fetch 1k at this point.

so it is not worth it. some dealerships are offering 4-7 k credit guaranteed for a car.

[unknownroad]

Depends how long it's been leaking, but that's the best place to start. Whenever it was filled, it should have been filled above the lower-limit.

Yup. If to your knowledge it hasn't been checked in the previous 100k miles, most likely it's a fairly trivial leak.

However, *in general* the power steering should still behave normally if you're at the lower limit. The symptoms made me assume it had run very low. What sort of weird noise did it make when the problem started?

If you're sitting in the car, parked, with the engine on, and turn the wheel from lock-to-lock, do you hear a squealing like the belt is slipping? A noise almost like a moan? A clunking?

Is the thumping rhythmic, in sync with the engine, or does it change depending on how quickly you turn the wheel? You could have a problem in your front suspension, with the P/S problem being a symptom rather than a cause.

[AquaPython]

ok yesterday i syphoned (turkey baster) out the fluid and replaced with fresh stuff 3 times. every time the stuff came out like chocolate syrup. i guess there is a lot of this stuff in the system because what i was doing seemed to not make a dent in it.

the car when on makes a noise now. the noise is the wheel that one of the belts is on. the wheel shakes while spinning about .5" i am guessing this is the power steering belt / wheel. if the cat is sitting parked i cannot turn it from lock to lock. if start to turn the wheel the power steering tries to assist and fails. it is a rythmic droning like a failing robot in a bad sci fi film.

[Cutty72]

ok yesterday i syphoned (turkey baster) out the fluid and replaced with fresh stuff 3 times. every time the stuff came out like chocolate syrup. i guess there is a lot of this stuff in the system because what i was doing seemed to not make a dent in it.

the car when on makes a noise now. the noise is the wheel that one of the belts is on. the wheel shakes while spinning about .5" i am guessing this is the power steering belt / wheel. if the cat is sitting parked i cannot turn it from lock to lock. if start to turn the wheel the power steering tries to assist and fails. it is a rythmic droning like a failing robot in a bad sci fi film.

ok. First guessing that the "wheel" is the pulley that the serpentine belt runs on. Which pully is it? Is it the one on the power steering pump? The one on the alternator? the Idler/tensioner pully?
Regardless, it sounds like a bearing is out in said pully. This will need to be replaced to further diagnose problems with the system.

[AquaPython]

yea dont think it is on the serpentine belt. if i remember it is a little thinner. i dont know if its on the power steering unit or not...